Ellesmere Road

Ellesmere Road is a major east-west road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It begins in the west at Victoria Park Avenue, as a continuation of the curved Parkwoods Village Drive that connects it to York Mills Road. It ends at Kingston Road, just east of Meadowvale Road.

History

Originally the First Concession of Scarborough Township (1850-1967), a hamlet once called Ellesmere (likely named after the town of Ellesmere, Shropshire in England) was established in the 1840s and gave its name to the road. The community is remembered by the Ellesmere-Statton Elementary School between Birchmount Road and Kennedy Road.

Since World War II, urban development and the proximity of Highway 401, which spans Scarborough between Ellesmere and Sheppard Avenue, has turned this into a major route. In the early 1960s, it was linked to North York's co-ordinating concession road, York Mills Road, by means of Parkwoods Village Drive.

The original route bypassed Highland Creek via Military Trail until the mid-1960s; the new roadway (straight along the original concession line) provides access to the Rouge Valley Centenary and the University of Toronto Scarborough.

Widenings of Highway 401 in the 2A and Port Union Road area truncated the eastern end in the 1970s.

In 1973, Ellesmere was widened into a boulevard between Brimley Road and McCowan Road prior to the opening of Scarborough Town Centre.

Public transit

The major TTC bus route is 95 York Mills with 321 York Mills-Neilson Blue Night. 133 Neilson and 38 Highland Creek also travel on Ellesmere, from the Scarbrough Centre RT station to Neilson Road and Military Trail respectively.

Ellesmere Station is a Scarborough RT station between Kennedy Road and Midland Avenue. A transfer and a brief walk is required to access the 95. ManyWho|date=December 2007 have noted that Midland Station is of equal distance to several Ellesmere transfer points.